The Shifo Temple, located in Luochuan, has attracted much attention from the public when it was still under construction. When it was completed, it became the first famous temple in Beizhou. Over the past few years, its popularity has become more and more prosperous, making all other temples in Beizhou look dim.
Eclipsed.
The Shifo Temple does not have a long history and is dwarfed by other famous temples in Kansai. However, because the Master Liu it enshrines is a Jihu monk, and the northern states are the main distribution areas of the Jihu tribe, these Jihu tribes are
The Hu people are very sincere in their worship and offerings to the temple.
This large temple is located on the east bank of Luoshui. Not far away is the transportation and commercial center of the north and south of Luoshui. There are many people and goods coming and going, and it is bustling.
The Shifo Temple has also become a famous building on the surface due to the huge flow of people. Even if they are not Samana believers or Jihu people, when they hear that there is such a famous temple in the area, most people will choose to visit it.
The temple itself is not famous for its profound Buddhist teachings, but for its majestic architecture and exquisite statues. The most important building in the temple is called the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, which houses thousands of statues of various sizes.
Buddha statue.
These Buddha statues are made of different materials and have various postures. They are enshrined in various Buddhist niches. They receive worship and prayers from many believers every day, and use the incense they share to protect the donors behind them.
The larger the temple, the more auspicious the blessings will be. In this Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, even the lowest clay statue is said to be able to protect the donor's health and protect him from all diseases. The higher the level, the more he prays for his son's good fortune.
All accepted.
Of course, it is not easy to obtain these blessings. In addition to believing in Buddhism, you must also be sincere. There are thousands of followers of the Buddha, and every believer is sincere enough. If you want to be sincere among many,
If you stand out among the believers, you will naturally have to perform more.
When the temple was built, only one sheep was needed to enshrine a clay Buddha statue. But now that the incense in the temple is becoming more and more prosperous, this standard is also rising year by year. The latest quotation this year has reached as much as one hundred pieces of silk, and it can only be enshrined for one year.
, it is necessary to add funds for worship after one year, otherwise the niche will be transferred to other believers.
"There are eight hundred niches on the lower level, five hundred on the upper level, three hundred on the upper level, eighty fine niches on the upper level, fifty golden niches, and ten precious niches. The amount of money dedicated to the niches on each level varies. From the fine niche above, except every year
Donate more than 1,000 pieces of silk, and also contribute to the propagation of Dharma in the temple. At the end of each year, the host and the elders discuss which worshiper can go to the shrine in the coming year, and the temple will also provide a sutra and transformation ceremony, or a water and land ashram, etc.
wait……"
As the Master Buddha Temple became more and more famous in Beizhou, Master Hongyi, the abbot of the temple, became a well-known eminent monk in Beizhou. He devoted himself to studying Buddhism and temple management every day, and rarely came out to see the believers. But today
, but he led the elders in the temple to accompany a handsome young man to visit the temple.
The eminent monks who were usually solemn and dignified were following behind this young man, all bowing their heads and being very respectful. It made people wonder what kind of status this young man had that he could enjoy such respectful treatment in the temple.
As more and more people gathered around, some people gradually saw a clue. Suddenly they pointed at the young man in brocade robes who was surrounded by eminent monks and warriors and shouted: "Isn't this the divine general who protects the Dharma under Master Buddha?"
Hearing this exclamation, everyone looked up in surprise. Li Tai couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He didn't expect that the little trick he did back then was still very powerful to this day. He didn't want to be watched by the crowd like this, so he waved his hand and ended the tour.
Master Hongyi and others were afraid to invite him to sit down in the inner hall, and then apologized profusely: "Old monk, before he could close the temple and clear the place, those stupid people disturbed the master, please forgive him..."
Li Tai waved his hand to show that he didn't mind, then frowned and asked, "With so many niches, can they be filled every year?"
Although he had determined the business route of the temple when he was still in Beizhou, the details were still completed by the Hongyi monks.
Having just heard Monk Hongyi introduce various charging rates, Li Tai silently calculated in his mind that the income from offering Buddha statues in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall alone has reached nearly one million pieces of silk every year. He was shocked but also a little worried.
The believers of this Buddhist temple are mainly Jihu, and the vast majority of Jihu are very poor. Now that so much wealth is extracted from them every year, they will inevitably become even poorer in the long run. Once there is a conflict between faith and survival, I am afraid it will not come.
The last big wave of turmoil.
Li Tai's original intention in founding this Buddhist temple was to use religion to tame these unruly Jihu people. If he puts too much emphasis on interests, he will undoubtedly put the cart before the horse. He raised this issue because he wanted Monk Hongyi to hold back and not to reap the benefits.
Hearing this, Monk Hongyi smiled and said: "Master Lang, please rest assured that these niches and funding are increasing year by year in response to the needs of the masses. Today, the temple has tens of thousands of believers all over the northern states, each with its own
If you don’t tolerate the idea of worshiping the Buddha here, I’m afraid you will turn to another place..."
In the final analysis, temple management is also a business. If there is demand, there will be supply. If there is sentiment, then you have to pay the bill. Previously, the Taiwan government had launched a major attack on Liu Shifo's faith, and Li Tai took advantage of this vacuum period to re-establish the temple.
The belief was established and raised to a very high position, coupled with ethnic identity and emotions, etc., allowing Shifo Temple to quickly establish a dominant position in the religious circles of northern Shaanxi.
But as time went by, other Jihu forces also noticed this situation, so similar temples appeared in other places to attract and divert believers.
Monk Hongyi and others responded to this by increasing niches and raising fees, using the still-rapidly developing market to raise industry standards and increase brand effects in order to combat those grassroots groups.
"Are there many fake temples?"
Li Tai's face sank when he heard this. He started Liu Shifo's faith not just to make money, but also to strengthen the ideological integration and shaping of the Jihu group through this faith.
In this field, he will never allow other competitors to appear to take away his voice. Of course, those imitators may not have such understanding and intention, but in the actual business process, the dispersion of voice will occur.
I talk about the city gate building, and you talk about the hip bones and elbows, who should you listen to?
After hearing Master Hongyi and others say that similar situations have occurred frequently, Li Tai then said: "Have you ever reported it to the government? Isn't it the responsibility of these state and county officials to ban obscene sacrifices and educate customs?"
"Yes, there are, but the princes of the various prefectures only say that barbarians are fierce and stubborn, and it is difficult to control them in remote areas..."
As soon as Li Tai heard this answer, he knew it was just perfunctory. Was Hu Huang more serious than when he arrived?
Jihu casually pulled out tens of thousands of people and chased him like a dog. After a few years, he was still punished by him and raised his breath. Now there is Shifo Temple, a collective belief of Jihu, and Helian Bobo was back then. They have never had such a strong appeal when they were alive. It is time to shape and strengthen the discipline and control of the Jihu group. If it is difficult to control the remoteness and it is difficult to control, then it is a shitty official!
After all, if you are not one of your own, then you don't care. What's more, you may just get another dividend here in the temple, and support puppets to do business elsewhere. It's not like Li Tai has done this kind of thing before, and he has a clear conscience. .
He also asked people to fetch the temple account books and look through them, and found that the annual dividends paid to North China and other state capitals had not been reduced, but the imitation situation in their territories was the most serious.
Among the states in the north, Beihua Prefecture is considered a relatively prosperous place. It is also the northern barrier of the Guanzhong Plain, and its geographical location is relatively important. Previously, Cui Quan took charge of this place one after another. At that time, Li Tai was able to develop with peace of mind under the care of his relatives and friends. .
But after Cui Quan resigned, the governor of Beihua Prefecture was replaced by Yu Wen Xianhe. Although Yu Wen Xianhe and Yu Wentai were said to be from the same clan, they were actually not the same thing. They were wealthy families who moved south, and they had long been estranged from their fellow clan members in Wuchuan Zhenbing. , when it comes to relationships, I am closer to those clans and clans in Chang'an.
The current situation is obviously that Beihua State is taking money and not doing anything. Although Monk Hongyi's strategy can ensure the growth of profits, it has lost the ability to radiate and influence the public in the long run. Therefore, those who imitate must be suppressed and banned. . But now that Li Tai is not the governor of the three-defense city, it is obviously impossible to use troops across the border.
After thinking for a while, he then said: "From now on, no more tributes will be given to Beihua Prefecture. We will gather 3,000 Hu soldiers and strong men and corresponding supplies. Later, Daxingtai will patrol here and advise the Hu people to accept the Buddha's teachings." Inspired, I want to donate materials and services to Daxingtai and build the Huazhou official residence."
Although Li Tai has money, he never spends too much meaningless money. After realizing that Beihua State can no longer or is unwilling to provide protection within the area, there is no need to continue to entangle and directly deal with the big problem. Xingtai Yu Wentai asked Xingtai to order the destruction of obscene rituals and maintain the monopoly of belief.
Recruiting three thousand Jihu soldiers was too easy for Shifo Temple. Many Jihu soldiers were extremely poor and had no support, so they worked hard to serve their faith. However, Li Tai did not allow the temple to hoard land and people from the beginning, otherwise At present, there are at least thousands of households of monks and slaves. Because they do not have their own land and property, many believers who donated their lives to join the temple were rented out by the temple to farmland and reclaimed land in Xihe County.
After inspecting the temple's management, Li Tai returned to Luochuan Fangcheng to wait for the prince and Daxing to meet in Taipei.
After the New Year, the emperor's condition relapsed again, and it was not until early March that the arrangements for the northern tour were finalized. Because Li Tai had been stationed in Luoshui, he was sent north by the envoy to arrange arrangements for his arrival. As a result, more than a month passed, and even south The news of the great changes in Liang Dynasty and the destruction of Jiankang City has reached Guanzhong, and the Northern Patrol Team has not yet set off.
Even if Li Tai didn't notice it at first, after being left here for so long, he naturally felt something unusual. The subsequent arrival of Li Mu confirmed some of his conjectures.